REVIEW: DEATH TANK (360)

• Release: Feb 18 2009 (US)

• Developer: Snowblind Studios, Inc.

• Publisher: Microsoft

• Genre: Action

• Pros: Retro “feel”, Fun, Overall presentation

• Cons: Price Tag, Controls, Learning Curve

Its only fitting that my first review for the Xbox 360 is an Xbox live arcade (XBLA) game that is the modern brother to the 1996 Death Tank (not to be confused with some sort of heavy metal band from the 1980s) found on the Sega Saturn. Death Tank is back and polished up for the ‘aughties and online enabled for the next generation of mini-tank commanders. This action based real time arcade game can be a throwback experience.

Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy… use the conquered foe to augment one’s own strength. – Sun Tzu

This game has the unmistakable feel of a classic console game which has been compared, by some, to it’s Death Tank predecessors, Scorched Earth, and Worms. I find its roots to go even further back with elements of some Atari 2600 games. The original combat first came to mind with the tank vs tank theme. The screaming treads, the twisted metal, the painful screams I heard over my headset last. Next I recalled playing Human Cannonball for hours on my Atari 2600. For those of you that may have never played Human Cannonball, it was a basic game that consisted of shooting a little man out of cannon and attempting to angle your shot to land that man in container of water. In Death Tank you must angle your shot and control the power of that shot in an attempt to obliterate your competition. Lunar Lander was a classic arcade game and came to mind when I fired up my jump jets for the first time. Another arcade game that this reminded me of was Off Road, which may seem odd. If you recall the arcade version of Off Road and how you could purchase upgrades between rounds, you will get the idea.

When I first dove into Death Tank, I did not know what to expect. I found a solid game that had elements of many games before it sucessfully blended into a fun gaming experience. It has the feel of a party game. On a previous generation system, I could see this be a game that one would rent when they were planning to hang out and play something with a  few of their friends. However this is a current genreration game and it is an XBLA download so I had to take that into account during the whole of my experience.

Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected – Sun Tzu

If you come into Death Tank understanding that you are playing a party game on steroids, then you are in for a much better time. The reason I refer to in this way, is that the controls are a bit too precise to be a normal party game. The basics are easy enough: right trigger moves right, left trigger moves left. The left thumb stick contols your turret direction and shot power. The buttons control the basic firing and weapon selection. This would all be fine, until you play with jump jets and attempt to fly. This was extremly difficult to control, and I think Snowblind did this for good reason. If you had tanks flying all over the place with sugical precision the game would lose something. However in a party style game I think a little play imbalance is ok. Also targeting your enemies takes a lot of trial and error and if you are playing a bot or someone with a targeting computer, you are going to to be scrap in no time flat. This is another understandable control scheme of the game, that just does not work for me as I have to think back again to its party game roots. These game play elements would not be such a problem if you just were playing with some friends for the first time, but this game is enabled for up to 8 players to play online. My journeies online showed me a world of people that have taken the time to hone their skills and make this more than a mere party experience for themselves. The learning curve can be a bit extreme for the new player to face such odds.

If tanks could really fly, they would be this hard to control.

He who wishes to fight must first count the cost. – Sun Tzu

The price tag for a game of this nature may be a bit too expensive for the type of play reserved for this sort of title. It is currently priced at 1200 MS points. That is almost the cost of the expansion to Grand Theft Auto. In today’s economy that may be a little steep for most gamers. I think it is a bit on the high side, but let me paint the full picture of Death Tank. This party game with the retro feel has a lot going for it. There are several modes of play available without going online.

In Single player you have tutorials provided, basic combat, advanced combat and even an arcade mode. I found that I enjoyed the arcade mode the most of the single player games. It offered up some different enemies as well as some power-ups to help me learn the game a bit more at my (old man) speed. The Online multi-player modes are not exactly what you might expect. There was more than your standard death match free-for all, there were also a few different team variants. These variations just change the number of members on each team. These teams can be filled out by humans or bots if you so choose. The bot difficulty can also be selected to customize your playing experience. The final touch determines how many rounds for the game (5,10,20,50, or 100).

A fun feature of the game is the money you earn for your performance in each round. After each round you have the opportunity to purchase upgrades for your tank. These upgrades can be weapons, defensive items, jump jets, or the must-buy for beginners. That must-buy is a the targeting computer. This add-on allows the player to see where their shot is going to land. Trust me you will need that. Each weapon has its own characteristics which can be used in conjunction with the destructible terrain to make for some interesting tactics. The defensive items are pedestrian for the most part (armor, shields, auto-turrets). Those jump jets sure can come in handy to move around quick, but good luck one you take to the air.

I find Death Tank to be an interesting title. It aspires to be more than a simple party game, and for the price tag it may become more than one for some hardcore players. It has enough little bells and whistles to be a definitely fun time for a group of friends, but are you willing to commit the time to compete against the world and get your money’s worth out of this XBLA title?

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